Lancaster man in critical condition after crashing into building
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OLD WASHINGTON — A Lancaster man remains in critical condition at Ohio Health's Grant Medical Center in Columbus after the truck he was driving Tuesday crashed head-on into a concrete building at the Guernsey County Fairgrounds.
Paul Hooper, 71, was initially transported to Southeastern Med by an ambulance from the Old Washington Fire Department and later flown to the Columbus hospital by MedFlight.
A public relations staffer at Grant Medical Center reported Hooper was in "critical, but stable" condition at 9 a.m. Wednesday. No further information regarding his injuries was available.
Old Washington Fire Chief Heath Beal was the initial first responder on scene and was able to extricate Hooper from the vehicle with assistance from a bystander.
"All four doors were locked, but I was able to break the back window by smacking it with my penknife," said Beal. "I was then able to unlock the back door of the truck and get him out through the driver's door with assistance from a bystander."
Beal said Hooper did not have a pulse when medical personnel left the scene, but two paramedics and an EMT from the Old Washington, Lore City and Antrim fire departments were able get his heart restarted.
"They got him back while en route to the hospital," said Beal.
Investigators with the State Highway Patrol's Cambridge post are trying to determine if a medical episode caused Hooper to lose control of the truck just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
According to reports, Hooper was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado east on Fairground Road in Old Washington when the pickup truck traveled off the left side of the roadway.
The truck crashed through a fence onto the fairgrounds and struck the corner of the building after narrowly missing another building.
A dispatch log at the Guernsey County Sheriff's Office showed the ambulance was en route to the hospital by 5 p.m. with CPR in progress. Southeastern Med reported Hooper was being transferred to Grant Medical Center at 5:55 after being stabilized.
The Silverado sustained extensive damage and was towed from the scene.
Beal said a dog in the truck with Hooper was secured by a bystander until it could be placed in a sheriff's cruiser. It was later transported to the Guernsey County Dog Shelter.
The highway patrol reported Hooper's family said he was en route to Maryland when the accident occurred.
No other information was available. The accident remains under investigation by the Cambridge post.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Lancaster man in critical condition after crashing into building
